The Nigerian Legion, Lagos Chapter, said it has plans to build a mini estate to ease the accommodation needs of its members in the state.

The state Chairman of the legion, Deputy Commandant General, Akeem Wolimoh, said this during an interview in Lagos.

The Nigerian Legion is a non-profit veterans’ organisation founded in 1964, whose members include people who served in the Nigerian Armed Forces.

The Nigerian Legion is not a paramilitary organisation, but an off-shoot of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

It is a statutory body, as outlined in the Federal Republic of Nigeria official Gazette No. 64 vol. 75 of September 30, 1988. It is designed to address the welfare needs of veterans.

Ironically, many ex-service men are faced with many challenges, the worst being lack of decent accommodation to retire to after their service years.

Mr Wolimoh, however, said that the body was concerned and worried about the pitiable condition of most of their colleagues, hence, the move to create a mini estate in Epe, where decent accommodation would be provided for members.

He said the body had recently sealed a deal to acquire 283 acres of land in Epe, a fast-growing metropolitan area in Lagos State, to provide decent accommodation for military veterans.

According to Mr Wolimoh, there are many ex-service men, who are living in one room shanties and slums in unfavourable conditions, as a result of lack of accommodation.

“We want to support the needs of military veterans, especially in the area of accommodation because living in unfavourable conditions has negatively impacted their health. As recommended in the Nigerian Legion Act, the legion is saddled with the responsibility of providing hostels and accommodating the veterans who are perceived to be in need of accommodation. It is also recommended that the legion shall provide necessary support to the families of fallen heroes and dead ex-service men, in one way or the other,” he said.

According to him, the plan of the legion is to build an all encompassing estate that will have a resort centre, medical facility, farmland, market, among other things.

He, however, says that financial constraints were slowing down the pace of achieving the body’s lofty idea.

“We have, however, met with a financial mortgage institution and we were advised to register a cooperative, which we did in the name of Nigerian Legion Multipurpose Organisation in January 2023.

“Efforts are ongoing to get the necessary approval from the government and then bring in investors because it is a huge project that the legion cannot financially handle on its own. We already have the land, all that is remaining now is the government’s approval; once that is done, construction will start,” he said.

Mr Wolimoh further said that the first phase of the project would be the construction of 30 housing units, to be completed under the public-private partnership initiative.

“This is of utmost urgency to meet the accommodation challenge of veterans. It will enable us to quickly provide accommodation for 30 families and get them off the deplorable conditions, which they presently live in. By the time the financiers have completed all formalities, we should be able to provide enough accommodation that will address this challenge within a span of between 10 years and 20 years. The housing project that will provide decent shelter for ex-servicemen will be a continuous one,” he said.

Mr Wolimoh stated that the idea to build an encompassing estate to be likened to a farmyard housing estate was conceived when he was young.

“As a young man growing up in Epe, I experienced how wives of soldiers then from the military barracks in Epe contributed significantly to stabilising the prices of food in the market.

“Whenever they came with their farm produce to Ayetoro market, which is the central market in Epe, the market price of farm produce would significantly fall. As a result of cultivating their farmlands in military barracks, they were able to harvest large quantities of crops, which greatly impacted on society, to the benefit of the consumers,” he said.

The chairman said that it was a scenario worth recreating in the Nigerian Legion’s proposed housing estate.

“All we need are capable retired veterans, who can still supervise farming activities in a corporate way where each one will be responsible for a certain portion of farmland. So, the estate will serve as both accommodation for the veterans, means of sustenance as well as a source of economic relief to the community through their farm produce,” he stated.

Mr Wolimoh said that the Lagos State chapter of the legion would soon perform the groundbreaking ceremony of the Nigerian Legion, Training Institute at Itokin, Epe.

“Within that place, we already have plans to build a secondary school and mini health centre for ex-service men. We need a health centre for ex-service men where they can be admitted, especially for those who do not have people taking care of them at their old age. This challenge is not only peculiar to Nigeria but also other countries of the world where ex-service men suffer because they don’t have family members to take care of them,” he said.

The chairman said that they had already invited people to register as caregivers and that enough people had already shown interest in the job of caring for veterans.

“In addition we have about 350 registered widows of fallen heroes in Lagos State that we reach out to during every festival to cushion the effect of the high cost of living. So, we have taken steps towards achieving this plan. We have already set up our machinery, especially in the aspect of housing and provision of medical facilities. We are presently responsible for five military veterans on sick beds, paying their bills and buying drugs that are not covered by their NHIS,” Mr Wolimoh said.

(NAN)